


Right Now

by alwaysrosy



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Childhood Friends, Diners, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Small Towns, idk why but i always hate not knowing ages in fics, they're both 21 in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 22:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16292972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alwaysrosy/pseuds/alwaysrosy
Summary: Harry and Louis have been friends since birth, and later became something more. However, after graduating, Harry went off to college while Louis stayed home to help his (newly single) mom with his sisters. Complications ensue.





	Right Now

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this idea is VERY loosely based off of two characters from the show Under the Dome. Its literally only their first scene together that inspired this fic, but yeah. Hope you enjoy!

As he rolled over off the bed, he came to a realization. This was not a new realization. It wasn’t the first time he came to this conclusion, and probably wouldn't be the last.

After pulling on his work uniform that was unceremoniously ripped off the night before, Louis glanced over to the bed.

“You should definitely stay.”

“If I want to keep my job, then I definitely shouldn't stay,” Louis replied, amused.

“Then come over later,” the young man in the bed said.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Louis started getting his bag and pulling on his shoes.

“Why not?” He sounded like a petulant child. With a quick glance, Louis noticed he was pouting like one, too.

“Harry, you go back to school in a couple weeks, this has to stop.”

“I don’t understand why you always get like this. You try to push me away and distance yourself, but then holidays hit and you’re back in my bed! Just admit to yourself that you like me, and we’d both be much better off!”

“That’s not what this is, Harry. I just.. I need to get to work. I’ll see you later.” With that, Louis walked to the bedroom door and was almost gone when he heard a shouted question.

“Does that mean you’ll come back tonight?” He walked out without responding, needing to leave if he was going to make it to work on time.

 

\---

 

“Hello, welcome to…” Louis looked up from his order pad, and saw who was sat at his new table. “Um, welcome to Sandy’s. I’m Louis and I’ll be your server today, can I get you guys started off with a drink?”

“Louis, we’ve known you since grade school, you don’t really need to introduce yourself,” Zayn stated. Zayn Malik was one of the popular guys back in high school. He had the mysterious, almost bad boy style going. Alongside him were Liam Payne, Niall Horan, two of his best friends and the most genuinely nice people around town, and Harry Styles.

“Yeah, sorry,” Louis stumbled. “Force of habit. Drinks?” He avoided Harry’s gaze, and jotted down their drink and meal orders. “We’ll have those out in just a bit.” As he walked away, he avoided looking back.

After he took care of his other tables, he brought their meals out and checked that no one needed anything. He caught Eleanor, one of the other servers, and asked her to watch his tables while he ran to the restroom.

When he went to wash his hands, he looked at himself in the mirror, and took a few deep breaths. Hearing the door open, he went to head back to work but stopped in his tracks when he saw who walked in; Harry.

“Hi,” he said as he walked towards Louis.

“What are you doing here, Harry?” He sounded exasperated.

“Having lunch.”

“You couldn’t have gone anywhere else?”

“It’s a small town,” Harry glanced down and when he looked back up, Louis could see nervousness in his eyes. “Please, Lou. Please come back to mine tonight. We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“You know what.”

“I can’t tonight. I’m watching the twins. My mom has the night shift again.” Now it was Louis’ turn to look down. “I need to get back to work.”

“You can’t just keep avoiding me, Louis. I’ll bring something for dinner for the girls tonight.”

“You don’t need to do -”

“Please,” Harry looked so sincere. Louis couldn’t say no. He nodded and slipped out the door. He shot Eleanor an apologetic look, and got straight back to work.

 

\---

 

The rest of his shift had flown and by the time he got home, the sun was almost set. Once he got inside he was bombarded by three girls.

“Louis!”

“Hey guys,” he smiled down at his sisters. “Where’s Lots?”

“She’s having a sleepover at Elizabeth’s,” Fizzy explained.

“And Mom?”

“Upstairs getting ready for work.”

“Alright, I need to get changed into something that doesn’t smell like fried food.” He put on a movie for the girls so he could get comfortable after being at work all day. He headed upstairs and checked in with his mom first. She was putting on her shoes, already dressed in her pink scrubs.

“Hi, darling. How was work?”

“Not bad, people were feeling generous today with their tips,” he smiled.

“That’s great. I need to head out in just a few, but there’s a couple frozen pizzas in the freezer. The girls will probably be getting hungry soon.” She finished lacing up her shoes and walked over to kiss Louis on the forehead. “I’ll be back in the morning, call if you need anything.”

“I know the drill, mom. Don’t worry. Have a good night at work. I love you.” With that Louis hugged his mom one last time and headed towards his room.

After taking an extremely hot shower, he headed downstairs to check on the girls. However, as soon as his foot hit the last step, the doorbell rang. He knew who it would be and he dreaded it.

“Hello,” Harry was stood on the other side of the door with a bag of takeout from the Italian place in town. “I brought dinner for you and the girls.”

“You didn’t need to do that, but thank you. Come on in.” Louis went in to pause the movie, and ask the girls if they were hungry yet. They all agreed and headed towards the kitchen, where Harry was setting out the food and getting plates and serving utensils.

“Harry!” The twins shouted in unison.

“Hello, lovelies,” Harry responded. “It’s been too long! You two are practically my height by now.” It was a gross exaggeration, but it got a giggle from all three girls. It also made Louis crack a smile.

The Tomlinsons and the Styleses go back a long time. Their mothers, Jay and Anne, had gone to school together and remained close friends all throughout their lives. Because of this Harry and Louis had been friends practically all their lives as well.

Dinner was a nice affair, the girls hogged the majority of the conversation, fighting for Harry’s attention. Afterwards the girls went into the living room to finish the movie, while Harry and Louis cleaned up.

“It’s fine, I’ll get the dishes later,” Louis tried.

“I want to help.” Not even Louis could argue with that. They finished only ten minutes later. “Can we talk?”

“I guess. Let’s go outside.” Together they walked through the house to the back patio. Louis sat down on the chair, leaving the couch for Harry.

It was quiet for a few minutes, but there was only so much silence Louis could take before he broke.

“You said you wanted to talk. Are you waiting for me to start?”

“No, I just… I don’t know what to say,” Harry took a deep breath, and looked down. “I don’t understand why every summer we have an amazing time, but it… it’s a secret, and then school starts back up and you ignore me until Christmas break. And then the cycle starts all over again. Why, Louis? Why do you do that?”

He finally looked up at Louis, straight into his eyes. Louis couldn’t hold eye contact, he looked down trying to figure out what was going through his head. Harry wasn’t lying. That’s how it always was. Ever since high school graduation, when Louis found out Harry was leaving.

 

\---

 

_Three Years Ago_

_“We did it, Lou! We finally graduated!” Harry was so excited, riding on the high of the ceremony, followed by several different parties._

_"I don’t know why you’re so damn excited. It’s not like much is going to change.” Louis wasn’t as excited as all his peers._

_"What do you mean? This is when everything changes, Louis! This is the time where we get to decide on what our futures are going to be like. In a few months, when we start back at school, everything will be new and exciting, and we can make all our own decisions!”_

_“_ _Yeah, I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”_

 _“_ _So, where did you decide on?” Because he and Harry were in different groups at school, neither of them actually knew the other’s final plans for the upcoming months. Harry looked at Louis with so much excitement in his eyes, that Louis couldn’t dare rain on his parade. “You said that school in South Carolina had a good theater program right?”_

_A few months back Harry had asked Louis what his plans were for after graduation. Again, not wanting to bring Harry down, Louis had spouted out what his plans had been before his dad left. All his hopes and plans had changed that day._

_“_ _Yeah, it does have a good program.”_

_"So, is that it? You’re going to South Carolina for school?” Harry sounded so hopeful, Louis couldn’t tell him the truth._

_“That’s the plan.” To his own ears, Louis sounded so monotone. However, either Harry was oblivious or he really was a good actor because he didn’t notice the lie._

_"That’s amazing, Lou! And it’s only a couple of hours away from where I’ll be!”_

_“Where are you going?”_

_“_ _I got offered a full ride to Virginia Tech.” Louis’ heart dropped. That wasn’t close to home._

 _“_ _Harry, that’s awesome. I’m so happy for you.” He smiled, but he was sure it looked just as fake as it felt._

 

\---

 

Louis was nearly bursting. He couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Harry… I don’t know, okay? I just… Seeing you go off to school with all these amazing friends, doing these amazing things, and then you come back here and fuck your stupid small town childhood friend, just to leave and go back to your amazing friends. And one day you’re going to graduate college, and do amazing things in your future and I’ll still be stuck here working at Sandy’s Diner for minimum wage, and you’ll forget all about me. You’ll marry some beautiful person and have beautiful children because you’re so goddamned beautiful, and it’s just easier to try to distance myself before I get too attached. But then you come back on school breaks and just look so goddamned beautiful and I’ve never been able to resist you, and… I just don’t know what to do.” _Fuck_. That wasn’t supposed to come out. “No, just forget I said all that. You should go. Thank you for dinner.” Louis stuttered out, running inside.

“Lou, no wait… let me -”

Louis didn’t wait. He ran upstairs, and shut his door. Harry respected his wish and didn’t run after him. Louis wasn’t sure that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Ten minutes later, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He didn’t want to look, knowing who it’d be from. He decided to go downstairs to check on the girls. The movie was just ending, and that surprised him. He could destroy his longest friendship and the only thing close to a relationship that he’s ever had, in such little time.

The twins were yawning, looking ready for bed.

“Okay girls, go brush your teeth and get ready for bed, I’ll come check on you in a few minutes.” He made sure the TV was turned off before going to turn off the kitchen light. He stopped, however, when he noticed a sticky note on the fridge.

_Tiramisu because I tira miss u --H_

It was such a _Harry_ thing to do, that it made his eyes water. He scarfed the entire square down in three bites, and went to check his phone.

_I could never forget you_

 

\---

 

The next morning, Louis woke up to seven texts and three missed calls. All from Harry.

_You didn’t give me a chance to tell my side of the story_

_Please don’t ignore me_

_I get that you’re scared but I really need to explain_

_Lou please_

_I don’t want it to end like this_

_I really need to talk to you_

_I’ll be at the place at 12 please consider meeting me_

It was 11:49, it took 15 minutes to get to their place. Louis figured he needed to give Harry a chance to respond to his word vomit from the night before. So after brushing his teeth, he threw on a beanie and changed from his sleep pants to jeans, and ran downstairs.

Daisy and Phoebe were playing in the backyard, Lottie still wasn’t there and Fizzy was playing on their mom’s laptop.

“Mom’s asleep,” Fizzy explained without looking at Louis.

“I’m going out, I should be back later, but I’ll text if my plans change. Love you!” He ran out the door and towards the woods.

Their place was a rocky creek side. It was surrounded by big trees that were perfect for climbing or just sitting. They’d been going there since they discovered it when they were eight. It later became the perfect rendezvous for secret makeout sessions, or when one of them needed to get away.

Louis arrived only a few minutes past noon, and found Harry sitting on a fallen tree.

“Hi.” Harry looked up at this.

“Hi, I didn’t think you would come.”

“I’m.. um sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have said all that,” Louis admitted, looking ashamed.

“No, I wish you had said it earlier. God, Louis. Is that what you really think of me?”

“I don’t know, Harry. It just kind of came out. I do think you’re beautiful, and amazing, and that you’ll do amazing things in the future, and that you’re too good for m-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Harry demanded with a dark look on his face. “How could you possibly think that?”

“Because it’s true.”

 

\---

 

_Two and a Half Years Ago_

_“Yeah, classes are going great. You know just basic stuff right now, but I can’t wait to get into my major classes and what I really want to learn about. You know?”_

_“_ _Yeah, totally. Listen I’ve got to go, I’m running late for my lecture,” Louis lied._

_“Oh, yeah. Good luck, take lots of notes, and don’t fall asleep! Byeee.” Louis ended the call. Each call was getting harder. Louis had kept up the lie that he was going to the arts school in South Carolina so that Harry wouldn’t ask any questions. However, with each passing day, Louis was regretting that decision more and more._

_He tried to put Harry out of his mind as he got ready to walk into the diner for his shift. The first couple of hours flew by with no mishap, and he got a nice big tip from one out of town couple who obviously felt bad for the small town boy working in a diner. After a short break, he went to greet his new table._

_“_ _Hello! Welcome to Sandy’s. I’m-”_

_“Louis?”_

 

\---

 

“Louis, I’ve been in love with you for practically my entire life. How could you be so oblivious?”

“Wha… What?” Louis was shocked. Obviously he knew Harry held an attraction to him, and they’d been friends since they were in diapers, but _in love_? “No, no, you’re not. You don’t.. I don’t… What?”

“Louis William Tomlinson, I, Harry Edward Styles, am in love with you and would love nothing more than to be your boyfriend.” Louis didn’t know what to say.

“Are you sure? I mean what happens when you go back to school? Or after when you want to move somewhere big and fancy? Or when you realize that I’m really annoying and a terrible person? Or…”

“Lou, you are the best person I know. How do you not see that? When your dad left your family, you gave up your dreams of school to work and help take care of your sisters. When I go back to school? Well, I’ll obviously call and text and skype you so much that you’ll realize _I’m_ really annoying. It’s my last year so we won’t have to worry about that for long. If I decide to move somewhere ‘big and fancy’? I’ll talk that over with my _boyfriend_ and he can either come with me or we can do long distance again. Couples face issues like these all the time, and if that stopped them, no one would be in a committed relationship.”

“But-”

“I love you, and all I ask of you is to try to love me too.” When Harry said this they both blushed. And, honestly, Louis had no more arguments left in him. He was tired of fighting what he’d always wanted.

“I already do love you.” At this, Harry glowed. Their lips met at the same time. It was a kiss of reassurance, love, and longing. It was perfect.

They’d figure out the long distance issues, and telling people their complicated history, and their futures, whether they’d be together or not. Right now, in this moment they were happy, and excited, and in love.


End file.
